RailRiders bats stay hot in win over Indianapolis

JAKE DANNA STEVENS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER RailRiders outfielder Antoan Richardson catches a pop fly hit for the third out of the fourth inning.

RailRiders’ Russ Canzler is safe at second base as he slides under Indianapolis’ Robert Andino while Michael Martinez looks on.

MOOSIC — Even in a game where baseballs are flying off bats and runs aren’t necessarily at a premium, the little things matter.

On a night when everything about their offense was as big as starter Shane Greene’s fastball and the outs the bullpen got late when it mattered most, the little things made all the difference for the RailRiders.

Austin Romine went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run, but his heads-up baserunning play in the sixth inning and two brilliant defensive plays started by first baseman Russ Canzler after that did as much to secure a thrilling 7-6 win over International League West-leading Indianapolis in the first game of a four-game set at PNC Field on Monday night.

“That was a close game all the way through, and it was fun to sit out there and have energy,” Romine said. “You could feel the crowd. It was definitely an exciting game to be part of.”

The Indianapolis offense that ranks third in the IL in runs scored was as good as advertised. Pirates top prospect, outfielder Gregory Polanco, went 4 for 5, and his RBI double against closer Matt Daley got Indy within a run in the ninth. Jaff Decker hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to get them back into a game the RailRiders once led, 5-1.

But the RailRiders matched them, as much with wit as anything else.

They built that 5-1 lead with big hits in the second and fourth innings. Jose Pirela smashed a two-run triple to left-center in the second against lefty Adam Wilk, and after Indy cut the lead in half when Polanco scored in the fourth, Romine launched his first homer of the season — a blast into the Indianapolis bullpen in left — that capped a three-run fourth.

But the rest of the way, the RailRiders were in survival mode.

They survived the sixth, after Decker’s homer got the Indians within a run, with Romine’s baserunning.

Coming into the game with just two hits in his last 22 at-bats, Romine ripped his second hit of the game with one out. The speedy Antoan Richardson followed by hitting a grounder to the right side that second baseman Michael Martinez fielded cleanly. He tried to chase Romine down to make the tag before throwing to first, but Romine stopped in his tracks, backed up a step and Martinez was forced to throw to first to ensure Richardson was out. Romine then hustled to second, and first baseman Chris McGuiness’ throw to the base hit him in the back when he didn’t slide.

Scott Sizemore then dropped a 3-2 single into right-center against sidearming 6-foot-8 right-hander Kenn Kasparek to make it 7-5.

“You have to give credit to Scott there, because that ended up being a huge, huge hit for us,” Romine said. “I was just trying to not run into an out. Antoan is right behind me, and he’s like the wind. He flies. I was just trying to stay out of the out. I got lucky and the guy threw it in to me. A little bit of luck, but a great piece of hitting right there.”

Clutch plays didn’t end with Sizemore’s hit, though.

McGuiness led of the eighth with a double to right-center against reliever Jim Miller, and with one out, it seemed like he’d easily have a shot to cut the lead to a run.

Catcher Nevin Ashley, who already had two hard hits in the game, smoked a Miller fastball toward right field. But Canzler leaped and made a sterling catch on the line drive that seemed ticketed for the right field corner. Miller would work out of the inning, keeping the lead at 7-5.

“That was pure reaction,” Canzler said. “It was a righty, and you’re always a little more on your toes for one of those plays when it’s a lefty up there. You’re just trying to read the bat as best you can. That could have gone either way, I felt. It kind of just got caught up in my webbing. That could have gone over my head easily.”

Canzler found himself literally in the middle of an even bigger play in the ninth. Indianapolis cut the lead to 7-6 on Polanco’s RBI double, and he glided into third on Brent Morel’s single to right. But Morel made the game’s biggest mistake, rounding first base a step too far.

Romine yelled for Canzler to cut off Adonis Garcia’s throw to the plate, and the second baseman Pirela snuck behind the stunned Morel, beating him to the bag.

Canzler made a perfect toss to the bag, and Pirela tagged Morel out sliding back in. The next batter, McGuiness, hit a pop up to left that Zoilo Almonte squeezed for the final out and the first win of a long homestand against two of the IL’s best teams, Indianapolis and Durham.

Contact the writer:

dcollins@timesshamrock.com

@RailRidersTT on Twitter

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